HEALTH ALERT: Disease from Latin America now ENDEMIC in the US, experts warn

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FROM DAILY MAIL: Health experts are calling on government officials to relabel a ‘silent killer’ disease spread by bugs as ‘endemic’ in the US.

Chagas disease is a dangerous infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.

The parasite is generally transmitted through accidentally ingesting feces of triatomine bugs, nicknamed ‘kissing bugs’, which are known to bite humans and animals.

The first known case of human Chagas disease in the US was contracted by an infant in 1955 in Corpus Christi, Texas – the child’s home was known to be infested with kissing bugs.

Since then, kissing bugs have been detected in 32 states, and scientists believe Chagas has blighted at least 300,000 Americans, though the count could be much higher as the disease often goes undiagnosed.

Sandra Youngblood was told she had Chagas when she was screened to do a blood donation in 2018. She “ignored the recommendation to seek medical attention until 2021,” the reports said.

Her early symptoms included headaches and reduced appetite, and the CDC said she expect a worsening of symptoms in her later years.

Chagas is not reported at the national level, so little is known about its actual prevalence. and Health leaders want it reclassified as endemic to help spread awareness and improve tracking.

The CDC uses the term “endemic” to denote the “constant presence/usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area.”

Chagas is termed a “silent killer” because a person can be infected for decades without knowing.

Since it isn’t traced nationally, there is no mortality rate for it in the US. In Brazil, the disease causes 1.6 deaths per 100,000 infected people anually.

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